Alignment-Based Yoga:

This class teaches the alignment and actions of the mind and body that help us understand why we do the poses, and to do them with an increasing sense of ease, strength, and well-being. The pace of the class is slow, poses are held for longer periods, and props are used to help teach the shapes and sensations of the poses. It is a lifetime’s study, but even a one-hour session can do a lot for us.

Ashtanga Yoga Open Practice Mysore Style:

Open Yoga Practice is a style of practice made popular in Mysore, India where students gather together and practice their own unique set of poses, breathing exercises, and meditations designed by a qualified Yoga Therapist. Expect to learn from the ground up starting with the strengthening and lengthening of the body, nerves, and breath. Fromhere you may be offered breathing exercises called pranayama, candle gazing to sharpen weak eyes, singing bowl meditation for patience, or maybe even chanting for memory, and the list goes on. This class is perfect for complete beginners and also for those practitioners who are ready for the highest levels of practice. Please join Yogi Dayanand for this rare opportunity to sculpt a perfect self practice that will be timeless and accessible anywhere at anytime. This is the traditional way in which Yogi Dayanand and most Indian masters have received their practice. Join us!!

Baptiste Inspired Flow:

Baptiste Flow is inspired by Baron Baptiste’s Power Yoga, a yoga practice designed to empower practitioners with the focus, training, and insight needed to achieve consistent results in the most important areas of life. A potent physical yoga practice, meditation, and active self inquiry are used as tools of transformation, encouraging participants to reclaim their full potential, discover creativity, awaken passion, create authenticity, confidence and new possibilities.

Buddhist Meditation:

Kadampa Buddhism is a special presentation of Buddha’s teachings which is easy to integrate into a busy, modern life. Through simple meditation techniques and special lines of thought, we can reduce our stress and tension, deepen our experience of inner peace, and grow our good heart of love and compassion. Suitable for both Buddhists and non-Buddhists, each class includes two guided meditations and a teaching. No experience necessary. Everyone welcome!

Chinese Martial Arts Strength Training:

This strength training class is a fusion of eastern and western fitness regimens designed to change the body from the inside out. Originally developed as a physical conditioning program for the advanced martial arts, the program build sthe strength, coordination, stamina and flexibility required for demanding physical exercise. Using a combination of isometric and aerobic body movements to tone and condition the body, the class combines both aerobic and anaerobic exercises to create a workout that strengthens the body’s cardiovascular system, core muscles and tendons while gradually toning the skin and superficial muscles. Since it requires very little space, no weights or equipment and it’s fun, once you learn the principles and practice you can take it with you anywhere and practice your entire life.

Easy Flow:

A slow flow workout for body, mind and spirit synchronizing breath with movement through a flowing series of basic asanas and sequences. The flow is designed to develop balance, build strength and increase flexibility, leaving students with reduced stress, inner calm, and heightened awareness.

Foundations of Vinyasa:

This class presents the fundamentals of Vinyasa yoga with particular attention on the alignment in each posture and the practice of uniting breath and movement throughout the series of poses. Brand new beginners as well as more experienced yoga practitioners will benefit from this thoughtful approach to Vinyasa. With plenty of individual attention and hands-on assists, you will feel both supported and challenged as this class prepares you to deepen your experience of yoga while preventing the risk of injury in more vigorous, faster-paced Vinyasa classes. ALL LEVELS OF FITNESS ARE WELCOME. NO PRIOR YOGA EXPERIENCE IS REQUIRED.

Free Screenings with Physical Therapist Kristen Williams:

Free injury screenings by licensed physical therapist, Kristin Williams include a 5-minute injury assessment, followed by recommendations for technique modifications, injury prevention strategies, and/or referral to a medical specialist if necessary. Kristin is a board-certified orthopedic specialist in the field, with 13 years of experience in the rehabilitation of musculoskeletal conditions of all types, including, but not limited to sports-related injuries. Screenings will be scheduled monthly, dates and times TBD.

Gentle Vinyasa:

Slightly less rigorous than the Vinyasa Flow class, the Gentle Vinyasa Flow class moves at a more moderate pace, allowing students to focus on the breath and generate mindfulness while developing an awareness of alignment within the poses.

Heated Tao Yin Yoga:

If you would like to increase flexibility this is a great class for you. We will enter asanas with patience and control using blocks and blankets to support us in releasing completely into the position. This class will be heated to assist in that opening and to prevent injury. The room will be candlelit and the space will be supported with the sound of live Himalayan and crystal singing bowls. We will end the class with pranayama (breath work) and deep meditation.

Hot Yoga Vinyasa Free Flow:

Yoga was developed in India, a country that sustains relatively high temperatures year-round. In order to mimic that intended environment adequate external heat can be viewed as essential. The heated room initially serves to prevent injury until the practitioners learn to generate their own internal heat and gradually come to welcome the warm environment as a tool for enhancing flexibility and deepening an awareness of breath. Beyond the physical implications (as further described below), environmental heat acts as a powerful and tangible psychological force that compels students of all levels to overcome attachment to external distractions. This enhances the practice of meditation, considered the primary vehicle for self-realization in
Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. Practicing yoga in a hot environment opens the muscular/skeletal system, it stimulates the glandular system, and helps eliminate toxins to rebuild the body from old injuries. With continued Hot Yoga practice, what once seemed purely physical slowly transforms the practitioner towards a metaphysical state of being. Hot yoga practice builds strength, stamina, flexibility, balance and coordination. Hot Yoga will keep your mind focused, relieve stress, purify your blood, improve circulation and restore health and vitality to your body and soul.

Kids Yoga:

This class provides a fun and creative way for kids to discover their bodies and minds. Through yoga games, children will learn to relax, concentrate, discover their bodies, build self-confidence and invent new postures. And there will be plenty of laughter. Fee: $45 for 5 classes running 2/5-3/5 ($40 for two or more siblings); Drop-in fee: $12/class or $10 for two or more siblings.

Mat Pilates:

Pilates cultivates strength, balance, and mental focus. The workout engages surface and deep-lying core muscles essential for ease of movement and perfect posture. Core-isolating and total body exercises build the physical and mental power that radiates from within to move and support the body through the day or any kind of athletic activity. The class moves at a vigorous, yet controlled, pace with many suggestions for modifying or setting your own level of intensity. The workout incorporates select yoga postures and sequences performed according to Pilates principles of breathing and alignment. We finish with relaxation and short meditation. All levels will feel welcome, motivated, and challenged with care.

Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga:

In Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga we will concentrate on the Breath, Core Contraction, and Soft Gazing. Using Ujjayi Pranayama (deep rhythmic breathing through the nose), you generate intense internal heat which removes toxins and purifies the internal organs. Also this breath lends itself to you as a sacred object to concentrate on. Yogais accomplished, according to Sri Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, through Asana (poses), Pranayama (Breath control), and Kundalini Meditation. All three of these practices will be applied simultaneously using the traditional Hatha Yoga poses taught by T. Krishnamacharya known as the Primary, Intermediate, and Advance forms of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga.

Every class ends with a deep journey through sound. Using the vibrational energy of the Himalayan and Crystal singing bowls you will relax and enter into the complete state of Shivasana (the earthbound body pose).

Prenatal Yoga:

Yoga for a mommy to be: this class is perfect for beginners as well as those who have been practicing yoga.  Come nourish yourself and your baby, connect with other expectant mothers, and prepare your mind and body for labor using meditation, breathwork, relaxation techniques and yoga poses.  Yoga can make a significant positive difference in your experience with pregnancy, labor, delivery, and postpartum recovery. Prenatal yoga is safe at any time during your pregnancy up to delivery.

Vinyasa:

Our Vinyasa classes offer vigorous Vinyasa flow sequences combined with some balance poses, backbends, and deeper release stretches. The Vinyasa classes are open to all levels of yoga experience, and modifications are welcome.  Those who are new to the class are encouraged to rest or adjust the postures and the pace as necessary.  Please contact Gemma at tel. 732 642 9721 or gemma@gratitudeyoga.org for more information on particular Vinyasa classes/teachers.

Yin Yoga:

Yin Yoga is a wonderful complementary practice to other styles of yoga like Vinyasa, Hatha and Ashtanga. All of these practices help us begin to strip away the layers of stress our bodies hold from the daily pressures of living in this fast-paced, stimulating, and multi-tasking culture. Just as more active yoga practices help build strength and flexibility in the muscles, Yin Yoga helps build strength and flexibility in the body’s connective tissue through gentle, long-held postures. It is a healing, rejuvenating and restorative practice also well-suited for athletes to aid recovery from the rigors of their sport. This class includes gentle Yin poses, which are held for several minutes to give the muscles and connective tissue time to release tension, as well as more energetic Yang poses to keep the energy flowing. It is a non-rigorous, meditative practice that allows us to explore and connect with inner stillness and quietude; it is intended to help relieve not only the physical, but also the energetic, mental and emotional effects of our everyday stresses.

Zen Meditation:

The Princeton Area Zen Group meets to practice sitting meditation (zazen), followed by an informal gathering and discussion with light refreshment. Those who have previously practiced zazen are welcome. Beginner’s Night is held the first Sunday of each month at 6:30 PM. Wear comfortable, loose-fitting clothing. Some cushions are available for newcomers; please bring zabuton and zafu cushions if you have them. To participate, please call Bill at 908-437-1232 or David at 551-655-4769 .